(Post 1 of 2) “There were cute boys on the ships who came in with the herring.” That’s part of what made being a herring girl in Siglufjörður, Iceland so much fun. Even though these women sometimes worked 24 hours straight, they assured me those summers were the best of their lives. Two of the…
(Post 2 of 2) What should I remember about the life of a herring girl? The fun after hours. Birna Björnsdóttir grabbed my shoulder and said, “It was fun to be young and to work a lot. You’d go home, change, put on a bit of make up and go to a ball every night….
(Post 1 of 3) Welcome to Jan Mayen. Maybe you’ve never heard of it. This is a Norwegian territory at 71°N, and it’s 500km east of East Greenland, 600km north of Iceland and 1000 km southwest of Svalbard. The island is 54 kms long, and 18 people live here. On the island you will find:…
(Post 2 of 3) A thirteen month post on Jan Mayen with be the “grand finale” of Wiggo Johansen’s career. He is the station commander and a member of the Norwegian Air Force. What does he like best on Jan Mayen? “The stillness. At home you have to drive in line and shop in line….
(Post 3 of 3) Meet Jan Mayen’s nurse, Siw Landro. She arrived in March of 2015 after years of dreaming about this place. Siw was born and raised in #longyearbyen, #svalbard. Her father worked for the coal mine there, and her mother had a laundry. Siw has a partner and family back home, but Jan…
(Post 1 of 4) The goal is to score a world first–the first circumnavigation of Svalbard’s four main islands by kayak. This is the team: Per Gustav Porsanger (Norway), Jaime Sharp (New Zealand), and Tara Mulvany (New Zealand). I met them in the Longyearbyen campground to learn about the imminent journey. They planned to leave…
(Post 2 of 4) Jaime Sharp has spearheaded this journey and worked closely with the team to pull the plan and the sponsors together. His boat is looking ready, and he’s really excited about the seat. It’s an inflatable bean bag, which sounds pretty cushy for long days in icy water—as long as it doesn’t…
(Post 3 of 4) Tara Mulvany’s show and tell was all about the chocolate. Bags and bags and bags of it. She has an impressive paddling record (around New Zealand, around Vancouver Island) but she told me, “I’ve been nowhere cold.” Fortunately, her teammate, PG, is an Arctic expert. Check out the next post.
(Post 4 of 4) Per Gustav (PG) showed off the polar bear fence they will use as a camp perimeter. He spent 15 years in the military and is “very used to the winter aspect.” He mother is from a family of Saami reindeer herders, and his father is Norwegian. “I’m not an experienced kayak…
Sometimes, a place becomes remarkable through its absences. Odd Ivar Ruud was the last trapper to work here, in Gnaalodden, Spitsbergen, and he left in 1971. The cabin is now owned by the state and maintained by the Svalbard governor. Locals still stay here. It’s pretty cozy inside.